Front page of the paper today... "POW deception leaves behind trail of betrayal". In a nutshell, this fellow sought returns by telling a manufactured Viet Nam war record. According to the article, one of the members on here ( a retired lieutenant commander) ck'd his record, and found it to be false. Among other things, he had posted on fishing boards, and people responded by offering to build him rods. He asked for a boat on one site. The Dallas Mavericks had taken him under their wing, where he served them pregame snacks. I do some charity builds, and thought this was interesting. I would post a link to the article, but you have to go thru a free registration to read it.

Here is an apology of sorts that he posted on another site.

Mr. Poindexter,

I was very wrong in making the bogus claims about my military service. I tried to contact you through the Rod Builder Forum but it would not give me the e-mail adress how to get ahold of you. Hope this message will get to you and the others especially Mr. Mc Lean.

I can only say how deepley sorry I am that my "stupid" actions has decreased anyone who fought in country in Vietnam. They deserve every ounce of respect the get. By my careless actions I have taken that respect and decrased it badly.

I do want to set the record straight on a few things:

1) When Jeff said there was a group that wanted to build me a couple of Bass Fihing Poles as a gift. I told him to tell them not to do it. The reson being that I have the Poles I like and I would not know how to use them.

2) When the group in North Dakota contacted me by e-mail and said they would build a custom Fly Rod for me. I said no. Because there are other people who deserve it more then I do.

3) This web site let me post an advertisement for a Jon Boat. Yes, I have a boat that I would like to sell. Yes, I use my wheelchair for any sporting activity. No, I was not at a plkace in North Vietnam called the "Zoo" I never was in-country and I never been to Vietnam. This was very wrong for me to post on this web-site.

4) My plan was to sell the boat I have and to give the money for the Jon Boat. The rest of the money I would give as a reciept for the person to take off of there taxes as a charitable donation if they can.

Again, all I can do now is to say to all Veterans I am sorry. Now that this is in the open I am going to start taking the new medication that the doctor gave me last week. I am going to start to go to tharpy on a regular basis. I will never ever do this again. I will contact a friend of mine in Congress and I will get him to fight for the propasals that Mr. Burkett want passed as law.

I don't know if this part of the message will get to Commander Mc Lean I am very sorry for what I did. I promise you this . As I fight this mental disorder I have this will never happen again. If I ever had the chance to tell you in person I would. But, I and you know this will never happen. As I prepare to set things right and fade away in to another life I need to know you personally can find the strengh to forgive me. No matter where I move to I am going to win this fight.

To this website I am going to say I am sorry for what I did and apologize publicly to all the Veteran Members on this site.

I am not scared to get e-mail from anyone. My e-mail address is popcornmanishere@msn.com if you e-mail me then I can apologize to you in person.

My history with this subject has led me to believe that this man was living a lie...He actually believed it himself after awhile...which would support the mental disorder claim. He has lived in more than 7 states in the last dozen years probably because his stories always caught up with him.

With that said...as a veteran myself, I think it is a difficult thing to do when a man comes to grips with the lies he has told for so long and hurt so many who wanted to help him. My best wishes to him on his dealing with this disorder and I hope he receives the help he needs to make the most of his life. It is a stand up act IMO for him to admit to what he has done when he was confronted by the reporter who wrote this. I am not justifying his actions as they were obviously dispicable...but I do wish him the best as he starts anew and hope he realizes that being the man he really is...is enough. Although he was not in Vietnam and did the things he claimed to do...he does have a disability that he has to deal with everyday. The strength to do this and to make the most of his life from here on out is admirable enough.

I hope no one is offended by this post as I know alot of people were disgusted with this guys actions as was I. But to make a commitment to start being the man the Lord made him instead of living a lie is absolutely the best thing that could of come of this situation.

Jeff Harding